"THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW - NOW IN LIVING COLOR!," A NEW ONE-HOUR SPECIAL FEATURING TWO NEWLY COLORIZED EPISODES, TO BE BROADCAST FRIDAY, DEC. 22

The Featured Episodes, "My Blonde-Haired Brunette" and "October Eve," Were Chosen by Creator Carl Reiner to Showcase the Comedic Talents of Mary Tyler Moore

THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW - NOW IN LIVING COLOR!, a new one-hour special with two newly colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the beloved 1960s series, will be broadcast Friday, Dec. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Series creator and co-star Carl Reiner personally selected the two episodes to showcase the tremendous comedic talents of the late Mary Tyler Moore.

"I picked two of the funniest episodes we did, and I remember them fondly because they both showcased our wonderful Mary. I treasure her memory," said Reiner.

The special features the season one episode "My Blonde-Haired Brunette," written by Reiner, and the season three episode "October Eve," written by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. The main titles and end credits of the two episodes are seamlessly combined into one set - at the beginning and end of the hour - with no interruption between the episodes.

The Emmy Award-winning series starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore as television comedy writer Rob and his wife Laura Petrie; Larry Matthews as their son Ritchie; Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie as Buddy Sorrell and Sally Rogers, co-writers on the fictional "The Alan Brady Show"; Carl Reiner as Alan Brady; Richard Deacon as Mel Cooley; Jerry Paris as Dr. Jerry Helper; and Ann Morgan Guilbert as Millie Krumbermacher Helper.

In "My Blonde-Haired Brunette," Laura dyes her hair blonde when she fears the romance between Rob and her is fading. The episode was first presented on Oct. 10, 1961, during the series' first season.

In "October Eve," a painting of Laura returns to haunt her when, despite her having posed fully clothed, the artist (played by Reiner) takes the liberty of "undraping" her. The episode was first presented on April 8, 1964, during season three.

"In 'October Eve,' I got a chance to perform on the show as someone other than Alan Brady, and I loved the character of Carpetna the artist as soon as I read it," said Reiner. "When I saw it in color, it was better than I ever dreamed it could be."

"The Dick Van Dyke Show" originally aired on CBS from Oct. 3, 1961, through June 1, 1966, finishing in the Nielsen Top 10 in three of its five seasons, peaking at #3 during the 1963-1964 season. The show received 15 Primetime Emmy Awards, including three Emmys for Dick Van Dyke, five for Carl Reiner and two for Mary Tyler Moore.

Carl Reiner is an executive producer, with George Shapiro and Paul Brownstein. "The Dick Van Dyke Show" is distributed by Paul Brownstein Productions.

RATING: To Be Announced